HOW TO 
CLEAN and REFINISH 

WAX FIGURES 

INCLUDING 

FULL FORMULA 

OF ALL MATERIALS USED 



THE MOST COMPLETE BOOK 

EVER WRITTEN ON THE 

SUBJECT 



Formula of Materials Used In The 
Oil Finish Outfit 



No. 1 . WASH SOLUTION. Formula of contents. 
Best grade of Benzine. 

No. 2. WHITE POWDER. Formula of contents. 
1 pound of powdered pumice stone. 
% pound of best grade corn starch. Mix together. 

No. 3. La Verona. Tinting liquid. Formula of contents. 
y 2 pint clean white varnish. 
1 tablespoon of turpentine. Shake well. 

No. 4. La Verona Burnt Umber. 
(Brand Artists Oil Paint.) 

No. 5. La Verona Rose Madder. 
(Brand Artists Oil Paint.) 

No. 6. Brush for cleaning. Stiff bristle sash brush. 

No. 7. Tinting Brush. Medium stiff real hair brush. 

No. 8. White powder brush. Very soft grey hair brush. 

No. 9. Brush for darkening around eyes. Stiff hair Artists 
brush. 

No. 10. Lip, Eye, Nose. Brush No. 2. size camels hair 
Artists brush. 

No. 1 1 . Brush to remove surplus powder. Soft camels 

hair bush. OCT 13 1914 



NOTICE— All brushes used in oil should be cleaned in benzine 
after using to keep them in good condition for future use. 



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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



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Instruction No. 1. 
Preparing the Head for Cleaning, etc. 

Remove the Wax Head from the form, place same 
on a clean table (covered with paper). Remove the hair 
pins from the hair, and comb the hair with coarse comb 
and brush till all the knotty hairs are straightened out. 
Now take the hair and gather together and twist same to 
the top of the head. Hold them into place with common 
hair pins. This operation is required to prevent the 
loose hairs from interfering with washing and retinting 
of the head. 

Instruction No. 2. 
Cleaning the Face with Solution No. 1. 

Cleaning the face is very important. With a piece 
of white cheese cloth about 18 inches square freely sat- 
urated with Wash Solution No. 1, wash the entire Face, 
Lips, Ears, Neck, etc., till all former color and soiled 
parts are removed if much difficulty is experienced in re- 
moving all soil or former color. Use Brush No. 6 sat- 
urated with Solution No. 1. It may be necessary to use 
a small pocket knife to scrape the paint off the lips also 
the corners of the lip where the dirt might lodge. The 
knife will also be required to get the dirt out of the ears. 
After all of the dirt is removed from the head wipe dry 
wuh a piece of clean white cheese cloth. (Do not rub 
hard.) 

Instruction No. 3. 
Apply White Powder No. 2. 

Plunge the short hdavy brush No. 8 into the white 
powder No. 2 and apply all over the Face, Chin, Ears, 
Nose and Neck, in fact all over the wax head which was 
washed. While applying this powder give the brush a 
circular motion with the powder; this operation will give 
the wax a dull soft appearance. Where the powder has 
accumulated this can be removed by blowing it off, also 
by shaking all the surplus powder from the brush and 
lightly brushing away the powder from the face. (Never 
use a cloth to remove powder.) 

Instruction No. 4. 
Oil Tinting Cheeks and Ears. 

Take a piece of glass about 6 inches square. Pour 
about one-half teaspoon of tinting liquid from the bottle 
onto the glass. 'Now take the tube of "La Verno Rose 
Madder" No. 5 and squeeze about one-fourth of an inch 
from the tube. Mix this very thoroughly with the liquid. 
Now you take the tinting brush No. 7, dipping the points 
of the bristle very lightly into this mixed solution of oil 
tint. 

With the wax head (thoroughly cleaned) begin at the 
ball of the cheek stippling same (Tapping) with brush 
No. 7, working gradually back towards the ears and 
partly into same. Repeat this operation until a rich pink 
appears on the cheek. 



Great care must be taken so that the color blends 
to a lighter pink, away from the ball of the cheek. (Do 
not load the tinting brush too heavy; also, do not drag 
the -brush over the face as though painting.) After the 
cheek is tinted and the ears are also tinted let the head 
dry for about five (5) minutes. You then proceed to use 
White Powder No. 2 again. 

With Brush i\o. 8, plunge same into the white pow- 
der and stipple the entire face and ears. Use plenty of 
powder. This operation will soften the expression and 
blend the color of the cheek to a beautiful pink. All 
surplus powder which may remain on the face can be 
removed with No. 11 brush. 

Instruction No. 5. 
Coloring the Lips, Inside of Nose and Corners of Eyes. 

Place a small quantity of "La Verno Rose Madder" 
on the glass; add a few drops of Tinting Liquid. Mix 
same thoroughly and proceed as follows with ^rush No. 
10: Dip the brush into the paint very lightly; part the 
upper lip at the center directly beneath the nose, curv- 
ing out toward the corner of the mouth, and curve down 
to the other side of the mouth. The best plan is to first 
outline the lips with the brush and paint, then fill in aft- 
erwards with the paint. This way you will be able to 
judge the proper thickness of lip. Should any error occur 
in applying the paint, same can be readily cleaned off by 
using No. 1 solution and applying 'No. 2 white powder. 
Note — After the lips have been painted and when dry, 
apply white powder No. 2 with brush. Use plenty of this 
powder. This is purposely to soften the color of the 
lips. The result of this last operation will be a rich pink 
color. For the corner of the eyes nearest to the nose 
apply the paint very carefully so as not to have any 
drop on the cheeks. For inside of the nose apply the 
paint also. 

Instruction No. 6. 
Darkening Around the Eyes. 

Proceed as follows: Place a small quantity of "La 
Verno Burnt Umber" in a small piece of glass; add about 
one-half teaspoon of tinting liquid; mix together thor- 
oughly. With brush No. 9 stipple the wax directly above 
the eyes also beneath the eyes. Do not apply the tint 
very heavy. Stipple very lightly until a golden brown 
appears. After this operation is completed let same dry 
for five (5) minutes, then apply the white powder the 
same as was used on the cheeks. 

Instruction No. 7. 
Cleaning the Eyeballs. 

After the wax head has been retinted the eyeballs 
will no doubt be dimmed with powder. To remove this 
light coating of powder from the eyes, use the blade of 
small pocket knife and scrape away the powder. Then 
take a small piece of tissue paper and twist it around 



the point of a lead pencil and polish the eyeball till it 
appears clean. The dressing of tne hair of the wax hgure 
can be very easily accomplished by one of your sales- 
ladies as most any woman is adapted to this particular 
work. 

Instruction No. 8. 
Resetting Eyelashes and Eyebrows. 

Many wax heads require a few extra Eyelashes or 
Eyebrows from time to time to give them a proper 
appearance. To apply these, proceed as follows: 
Remove some hair from the head where it is 
thickest and it will not be noticed. To insert the hair, 
secure the finest sewing needle to be had, break off part 
of the needle at the eye so that it will make a prong. 
Now, with a pair of pincers, force this needle into a 
piece of wood about tne thickness and length of a lead 
pencil. After the needle is forced into the end of this 
piece of wood you have your hair setter. If the hair to 
insert in the brow is say four inches long, "lay this hair 
over the part where you intend to insert it. Now, with 
the hair setter slightly heated, force the hair, placing 
point of hair setter in the centre of the hair. After the 
hair is forced into the wax this will give you by one 
forcing two hairs in one place. Repeat this as often as 
necessary where the hairs are needed. After you have 
completed inserting the eyebrows and eyelashes trim off 
loose ends of the hairs with a pair of very sharp scis- 
sors. 

Instruction No. 9. 
Cleaning and Retinting Wax Arms and Hands. 

To clean and retain retint wax arms and hands. 
Proceed as follows: Use wash solution No. 1 and apply 
the same method as for the face, etc. When dry use 
the powder No. 2; give the wax the dull finish. Use the 
same tinting mixture as was used on the cheeks. Stip- 
ple the back of the hands to about the wrist until a pink 
appears. Blend the color to a very light pink away from 
the center of the back of the hand. Tint the finger 
nails a darker shade than the hand. After the hand is 
tinted and dry apply the white powder to soften the 
color. 

Instruction No. 10. 
Repairing Wax Heads, Arms, Hands, Fingers, etc. 

IMPORTANT. All parts before repairing or join- 
ing together must be thoroughly cleaned and all traces 
of dirt removed. This can be done by using Solution 
No. 1 and with the use of a small pocket knife. • 

Repairing Cracks. 

First secure a small alcohol lamp, a small tea spoon, 
and a small piece of wax, the same shade as the part 
which is to be repaired. (Note— To secure a small piece 
of wax the same shade, this can be secured from inside 
the bust of the head where it will not be noticed.) After 



the part to be repaired is thoroughly cleaned and all 
traces of dirt removed from the crack, proceed as fol- 
lows: Heat the handle of the teaspoon over the flame 
of the alcohol lamp; if it appears smoked wipe off same 
with a piece of cheese cloth; now take the heated handle 
of the spoon and plough through the crack about one- 
fourth of an inch deep. This will give you an opening 
to pour wax into, to repair the crack securely. Hold 
over the crack the spoon (heated) and with the other 
hand press the small piece of wax against the heated 
spoon, allowing the molten wax to fall into the crack till 
it is over filled. After the wax is fully hardened remove 
the surplus with a small pocket knife till it is level with 
the foundation. With a small piece of tine sandpaper 
finish it smooth. After the repairs are made your figure 
is now ready for cleaning and retinting. 

Building a New Wax Nose. 

If the entire nose is broken off, thoroughly clean and 
remove all dirt from the broken parts. Lay the head on 
its back. After securing a piece of wax the same shade 
of the face, from beneath the bust where it will not show, 
proceed as follows: Heat the handle of a tea spoon over 
alcohol flame, wipe off smoke from the spoon if any ap- 
pears on it, with the other hand press the piece of wax 
against the heated spoon and let the wax drop upon drop 
till the nose is built much larger than usual. After the 
wax has hardened shape the nose by using a small pocket 
knife and the ladle end of a tea spoon. To smooth the 
nose«use very tine sand-paper. A perfect model of a nose 
can be secured by comparing it with the nose of another 
wax figure, while moulding it. After nose is completed 
wash and retint same as former instructions. 

Instruction No. 11 
Repairing and Rejoining Broken Fingers. 

To repair Broken Fingers. Proceed as follows: 
Clean all broken parts free from all dirt; take a piece of 
thin wire about the thickness of a common hair pin. 
This wire should be from two to three inches long, de- 
pending largely upon size of the part to be joined to 
the hand. Heat the piece of wire, holding same with a 
pair of pincers over an alcohol lamp flame. The wire 
should be just heated enough to force into the broken 
part, so that it will not crack. After the wire is forced 
into the part of the hand then take, the broken-off part 
of the finger and force the wire into it, taking particular 
care to have the parts meet. Carefully note the posi- 
tion of the finsrer so it will look natural as the rest after 
it is joined. Enough wax can be secured from the screw 
end of the hand or arm to melt and drop into the crack 
to give it a smooth surface, so the crack will not show. 
All surplus wax can be removed with a small pocket 
knife and fine sand-paper. After all repairs are made to 
hands, clean and retint as instructed. 



